Supports and straps are used in various articles for supporting, placement or closure about a body part. Straps are conventionally used for being tensioned or used to increase the fit or comfort of the article. The straps may be combined with supports for stabilizing or compressing against a body part. Often, however, supports are statically attached to an article and straps are separately positioned or spaced from the article.
While supports and straps may be used in different articles, they are predominately found in orthopedic devices. In an example, there are numerous orthopedic devices such as braces that provide support around a patella of a user. Many of these braces use a stationary or static support that provides support about the patella of the user.
Some of the known braces include a front central opening that allow for the wearer's patella or kneecap to project therethrough. The front central opening relieves pressure otherwise exerted on the patella, particularly when the knee is bent or in flexion. These braces may include a pad or support located about the front central opening to provide a restraining force to the patella and additional support for preventing lateral or medial displacement of the patella in the femoral groove.
Despite known solutions, many braces fail to maintain the support in a proper position on the patella so the opening or support can prevent patella displacement, in part due to their static arrangement; they are not arranged to accommodate movement or flexion of the knee.
Alternatively, another example of a brace has a strap and a patella support attached to the strap for applying patellar support. One end of the strap has the patella support fixed near the patella of a user and a second end secures to a connection point along a lateral or medial side of the brace. As the strap is tensioned, the support applies pressure about the patella. The support itself, however, does not change in shape according to exertion of tension in the straps; rather they are merely compressed against the knee.
Many known devices fail to maintain the support in a proper position on the patella so the opening or support can prevent patella displacement. Therefore, there is a need for a knee brace that at least provides means for stabilizing and supporting the patella.
A large group of people suffer from patellofemoral osteoarthritis (OA); either stand-alone patellofemoral OA or, in combination with medial or lateral side OA. There are few if any commercial patellofemoral OA solutions on the market.
A purpose of a patellofemoral OA brace is to relieve knee pain caused by OA in the patellofemoral joint. An unloading type knee brace provides a solution for people with medial or lateral side knee OA, such as one described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,198,610, granted Apr. 3, 2007, and incorporated herein by reference. There exists no solution that targets individuals suffering from stand-alone patellofemoral pain and in combination with medial side OA.